(KRON) – A Sunnyvale man has been arrested after he struck two victims and cut off flags that were hanging at the Highway 101 crossing, police said.
The Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety identified the arrested man as 41-year-old Joshua Krubia. Police said the incident occurred before 5:30 pm on November 7.
When officers arrived at the Highway 101 crossing, Krubia was “detained by several individuals at the scene,” police said.
The San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said the Highway 101 demonstration in Sunnyvale was organized by pro-Palestinian volunteers. Kiir-SFPA said they were organizing a protest for Gaza and demanding justice for the Palestinians.
Volunteers told CAIR-SFBA that the man shouted racial slurs and profanities at them.
“Krubia approached a group of individuals at the crossing and got into a verbal altercation. Krubia used a pocket knife to cut flags and signs that were posted at the crossing. The situation escalated into a physical altercation, during which Krubia struck one individual in the head with a flashlight, causing a minor injury, and struck another person with his fist,” the police department wrote.
Krubia was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and booked into the Santa Clara County Jail, police said.
“We are outraged by this reported violent attack on community members who are peacefully advocating for Palestinian human rights,” said Zahra Bello, Director of CAIR-SFBA. “This was not just vandalism – it was a hate-motivated attack that left people injured while exercising their right to freedom of expression.”